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Posts tagged with the category Kerubo Abuya

Seeing Beyond Boundaries that Divide Us in Our Quest for Social Justice for ALL – Part 1

July is usually a rather reflective month for me as I embrace yet another year of progression in age with a deep sense of gratitude for the gift of life. The past two weeks have particularly been reflective and thought-provoking for me as I seek to gain deeper insights on a variety of things. These include the direction I am taking with my...

Creating Conditions for Learning and Change When “Everything You Do is an Intervention”

Following some encounters I had early last month leading up to the 104th anniversary of the International Women’s Day I am reminded of lessons learned here at Saybrook University on helping human systems. I participated in an event with a group of about 100 Christian women from one of the parishes in Southwestern Kenya at a church located...

SPECIAL TRIBUTE - Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela: A Great Leader and Elder that Took a Stand for Humanity!

"A real leader uses every issue, no matter how serious and sensitive, to ensure
that at the end of the debate we should emerge stronger and more united than ever before."
~ Nelson Mandela from a personal notebook, 16 January 2000” as posted on the Nelson Mandela Facebook Page on December 5th 2013.
This was the statement on...

“Reopening Spaces” for African Women Cultural Leadership for Social Transformation – Part 2

In part 1 of this article, I attempted to provide a historical contextualization of the role the transatlantic slave trade, colonialism and introduction of Christianity played in enabling the dominant narrative that African women have not played a significant leadership role in the social, economic, political, spiritual and other spheres of human...

“Reopening Spaces” for African Women Cultural Leadership for Social Transformation – Part 1

Queens. Queen Mothers. Princesses. Chieftaincies. Women Cultural Leaders. Royalty. These are terms and concepts I have encountered in folklore, books, music, history lessons and most prominently in the media with the most visibility perhaps being placed on the British monarchy. As far as I know, my community of birth -- Gusiiland, Kenya -- did not...

A Swirling Power Quadruple Interplay: Misogyny, Violence, Silence and Voice - Part III

Part II of this article concluded with an attempt to understand the seemingly institutionalized culture of silence that surrounds the social system of violence against women in Kenya. I am recognizant of the fact that women like men are participants and therefore contributors, beneficiaries and sufferers of the cultures that they are immersed in....

A Swirling Power Quadruple Interplay: Misogyny, Violence, Silence and Voice - Part II

Part I of this article provided some background and understanding of the prevalent culture of violence - especially sexual violence - against women in Kenya citing examples from Mwangi’s essay Silence is a Woman along with statistics from other sources. Her essay throbs with a seething theme of silence. My interest in the topic of silence...

A Swirling Power Quadruple Interplay: Misogyny, Violence, Silence and Voice - Part I

An essay, Silence is a Woman, by my friend Wambui Mwangi posted on “The New Inquiry” reports that, “On April 1, 2013, a woman passenger got off a matatu at the bus stop in Nyeri, a town in central Kenya, and was assaulted by men variously described as 'a group,' 'a crowd,' 'a mob,' or simply as 'matatu...

The month of April is a very important one for me and this year marks the 10th anniversary of my birthing. A very important, if not, perhaps my most important life moment that happened to take place on Earth Day. Upon deeper reflection on being bestowed with the gift of motherhood and my role as a mother, I feel both challenged and inspired. One...

Missing Women’s Voices in Leadership: Makes for a Flawed Democracy

In his March 11th 2013 article “Female candidates faced big obstacles in concluded polls” in the Standard Digital, Michael Wesonga asserted that “Kenyan women stand out as the greatest losers in the just concluded General Election after they failed to clinch top seats. No woman was elected as governor or to the Senate”. He...

One Billion Rising: A Global Call to End Violence Against Girls and Women

As a woman who is a survivor of violence and as a human rights advocate who focuses on women’s and children’s rights, I took part last week in the V-Day One Billion Rising campaign, which aims to create a space of celebration while questioning the culture of violence and other retrogressive cultural practices that violate women and...

Gender Equality: Celebrating Our Differences, Embracing Our Humanity

Last year, my daughter, now 9, asked me to explain the meaning of “gender equality.” As I explained the meaning of this phrase she had encountered while reading a paper that I was writing, she asked me yet another question: “so why aren’t things this way, mommy?” My daughter was surprised and could not fathom the idea...